Head Ambassadors with Rav and Rabbanit Rimon

Over the past five years, Shagririm Balev has helped more than 500 couples get married through an innovative matchmaking system. World Mizrachi is a global partner in bringing Shagririm to communities around the world. Rabbi Aron White spoke with Ayelet Glatt to find out more about the Shagririm revolution.

Tell us a little about how you became involved with Shagririm Balev.

My husband and I had just returned from shlichut in Cape Town, arriving back in Israel only a couple of weeks before October 7th. During maternity leave, while my husband was serving in Gaza, I found myself thinking about what my next form of shlichut would be. One of the things that stayed with me from our years in South Africa was how difficult dating can be in smaller Jewish communities, where opportunities are naturally limited and everyone tends to know the same people. I was also thinking about olim who come to Israel after making the life-changing decision to move here, only to discover that building a social network – and ultimately finding the right person – can be far more challenging than they expected.

When I discovered Shagririm Balev, it felt like a natural fit. It addressed something I cared deeply about: helping people build Jewish homes and strengthening connections across the Jewish world.

For readers unfamiliar with it, what exactly is Shagririm Balev?

The initiative began at Machon Lev, a religious college in Jerusalem, where a group of students recognized that while traditional matchmaking has its place, friends often know one another best. Their idea was simple: instead of waiting for someone else to solve the shidduch challenge, why not take responsibility for helping their own friends?

With the support of Machon Lev and later World Mizrachi, that idea developed into a platform where ambassadors – shagririm – represent people they know and care about. Rather than creating profiles for themselves, they create profiles for friends and family members, review potential matches generated by the system, and connect with other ambassadors to explore possibilities.

Most people in the Modern Orthodox community already meet through friends and family. Shagririm Balev has taken that natural process and scaled it dramatically. Instead of relying solely on the people within your immediate circle, you become connected to thousands of ambassadors who are all looking for opportunities to help others. You know that conversation around the Shabbat table – “I know someone wonderful; does anyone have an idea?” Shagririm takes that conversation and makes it a global network.

The growth has been extraordinary. In the first year there were around fifty weddings; in the second, that number doubled to approximately one hundred. Today, as Shagririm Balev enters its sixth year, more than 550 couples have married through the platform – statistically, a new engagement takes place every two days.

What makes Shagririm different from other matchmaking initiatives?

Most initiatives focus almost exclusively on singles themselves – encouraging them to join another platform, attend another event, or sign up for another service. Shagririm Balev takes a fundamentally different approach by speaking to the entire community, giving friends and family a real opportunity to actively help. The message is simple: if you know singles and care about them, you can do something about it. Friends, siblings, neighbors, rabbis, teachers, and community members all have a role to play. We are encouraging people to take personal responsibility for matchmaking, rather than outsourcing it to someone else.

Rav Yosef Zvi Rimon is himself an active ambassador in the system. He helped facilitate a match between an oleh from New Jersey and an Ethiopian-Israeli woman from Rosh HaAyin. At first glance, it wasn’t an obvious match, and he found himself wondering whether it would really work. Then he stopped and asked himself: “Why am I deciding for them?” He suggested the match, they met, and today they’re married.

To me, that story captures the essence of Shagririm Balev. The role of an ambassador is not to decide who belongs together; it’s to create opportunities that might otherwise never exist, drawing on the best of technology and a global network.

We see that principle in countless stories. Recently, a couple in their sixties became engaged through the platform. I’ve seen children sign up their parents because they wanted someone advocating for them. One of my favorites: an 89-year-old woman whose great-granddaughter added her to the system. It was a beautiful reminder that there is no age at which people stop hoping for companionship and connection.

What’s also remarkable is the shift in how people think. Ambassadors start listening more carefully to their friends, paying attention to what they’re looking for, and actively keeping an eye out for opportunities. Instead of saying, “I hope someone helps this person,” they start asking, “What can I do?”

How has the movement expanded beyond Israel?

After seeing the success of the Hebrew platform, World Mizrachi recognized that the same challenges existed throughout the Jewish world and invested in building an English-language version. Over the past two years, we’ve seen growing participation from communities in Australia, South Africa, England, and North America, with new ambassadors joining regularly from across the English-speaking world. Already, a significant percentage of the couples who get engaged through Shagririm are English-speaking.

The next major stage is expansion across the United States, in partnership with the Orthodox Union and World Mizrachi. We already have American couples who have become engaged through Shagririm Balev, and we’re increasingly hearing from communities abroad that are eager to bring the model to their own cities.

Looking ahead, what comes next?

As the network expands internationally, we want to ensure that ambassadors receive training and support so they can make thoughtful and meaningful suggestions. Research consistently shows that one of the biggest frustrations singles face is not receiving enough quality suggestions – and that is an area where communities can make an enormous difference.

Ultimately, the success of Shagririm Balev comes down to a simple idea: building Jewish homes is not someone else’s responsibility. When ordinary people decide to care, listen, and take action on behalf of their friends, remarkable things happen. The hundreds of weddings we’ve already seen are proof that a community willing to take responsibility for one another can genuinely change lives.

But I Don’t Know If I’m Good at Setting People Up? Ayelet’s Five Tips for Getting Started with Matchmaking 1. Just get started. I used to think matchmaking wasn’t my thing – but the truth is, I simply wasn’t trying. Once I started actively thinking about people and looking for opportunities, I was able to help create meaningful connections, including a couple who eventually got married. 2. You don’t have to do it alone. One of the greatest strengths of Shagririm Balev is that it guides you through the process. You receive support, tools, training, and suggested matches. The system helps you build profiles and identify potential connections. You don’t need to be an expert to get started. 3. We don’t measure a mitzvah by how naturally it comes to us. No one says, “Giving tzedakah is important, but I’m not really good at it,” or “Visiting a mourner isn’t my thing.” If something matters, we do our best to contribute. Helping someone find a life partner is a tremendous mitzvah, regardless of whether it feels natural or easy. 4. Friends and family are still how most people meet. Research consistently shows that many successful relationships begin through personal connections. Singles are often waiting for the people around them to think of someone, make an introduction, or open a door. If everyone assumes someone else will do it, many opportunities will be missed. 5. The most important matchmaking skill is listening. Start by listening. Ask your friends what they’re looking for, what matters to them, and what their experiences have been. When you genuinely know and understand people, you become far more likely to recognize a meaningful match when the opportunity arises.